Little Ice Age glacier extension and retreat in Spitsbergen Island (High Arctic, Svalbard Archipelago)

Raúl Martín-Moreno,Fernando Allende-Álvarez

doi:10.18172/cig.2919

Abstract

The influence of the Little Ice Age on the glaciers of Spitsbergen has been well documented by many investigations since long time. This paper studies, measures and presents new data on the Little Ice Age maximum glacier extension and retreat by aerial photo interpretation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools use. It also elaborates cartography where all the results are expressed in greater detail. During the LIA maximum the Island of Spitsbergen was covered with a 7.34% more of ice than today. After the Little Ice Age, the total glacier area loss was 13.84%, which means a total of 2769.8 Km2 over the 20,008.7 Km2 of the total glaciated in the current context. The analysis of the maximum Little Ice Age glacier extension in the major drainage basins brings important differences among them; hardly 100 years ago some basin drainage increased the glacier area more than 24% (in the western and central region of Spitsbergen), while others less than 5% (in the northeast region of the Island). The greatest retreats are found in the tidewater glaciers that extend into the sea, which we explain due to different factors: their glacier front beds are found below the sea level, the intense ablation of the calving process, the fact that their tidewater fronts are thin and temperate (which make them more dynamic and very sensitive to climate fluctuations), and that the advances of these glaciers may correspond with surges, which means that the rapid retreats are motivated by the post-surging phases as well. The conclusions of the present research point out a very important ice loss in the whole Island since the Little Ice Age, and the high vulnerability of this Arctic Archipelago to global warming.

Highlights

The glaciers of Svalbard and Spitsbergen have been intensely studied since long time. Many of these researches have been focused on the geomorphology and the deglaciation after the Little Ice Age (LIA) (e.g. Ziaja, 1994; Lønne and Lyså, 2005; Lukas et al, 2005; Rasmussen, 2006; Rachelewicz et al, 2007; Bate, 2008); or on the glacier retreat during the last decades (e.g. Ziaja, 2001, 2005; Palli et al, 2003; Bartkowiak et al, 2004; Zagórski and Bartoszweski, 2004; Navarro et al, 2005; Ziaja and Pipala, 2007; Sobota and Lankauf, 2010; Ai et al, 2013; Lapazaran et al, 2013)
LIA shapes and glacier surface from 2000-2010 (König et al, 2014) were intersected to obtain a single database. From these data we have considered the ice surface, which have allowed us to calculate the percentage of the area that has changed since the LIA
It has been shown that the glacier retreat after the LIA is the predominant trend in Spitsbergen

Summary

Introduction

The glaciers of Svalbard and Spitsbergen have been intensely studied since long time. This paper attempts to present new quantitative data on the extension of the Spitsbergen Island glaciers during the LIA by using aerial photo interpretation, GIS tools and cartography, proposing a total percentage of ice area loss since . Knowledge of these values may help to understand the reach and effects of the global warming on the Svalbard Archipelago. Global warming is amplified in the Arctic region (Pithan and Mauritsen, 2014), much more pronounced than in mid latitudes (ACIA 2005, IPCC 2007) Svalbard displays this unique climatic high sensitivity (Lamb, 1977; Houghton et al., 2001; Humlum et al, 2003). Experiencing the greatest temperature increase in Europe during the latest three decades (Isaken et al, 2007)

Glaciers of Spitsbergen

Methodology

Methodological difficulties

Findings

Conclusions